This invention relates to improvements in merchandise bulk vending machines in which the coins introduced for the merchandise are dropped into a cash box mounted in the base of the machine and a plate carrying a rotary coin mechanism is positioned to close a portion of the base. The machine described and claimed herein is a specific improvement over Applicant's basic Model 80 marketed for many years by Northwestern Corporation of Morris, Ill. The most recent embodiment of that Model 80 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,859B1 issued to the inventor of the present invention, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. The Model 80 vending machine comprised a supporting base member having side and rear walls rigidly connected to each other and leaving an operable front wall formed as a mechanism plate pivotable about its lowermost edge on the front floor of the base. When the mechanism plate is pivoted forwardly about its bottom edge, access to a cash box located behind the mechanism plate, in the base, is provided.
In normal operation, the mechanism plate cannot be pivoted forwardly since its uppermost edge is retained by a lip or retaining element at the lower forward edge of the merchandise storage container positioned immediately above the base. The storage container, or member, comprises a four sided box, the sides of which are typically transparent to permit viewing of the storage contents. The storage member is provided with a closure top and is fixedly secured to the base member by way of a centrally located rod passing from the bottom of the base upwardly through the storage container and thence through the top by way of a locking mechanism that, when locked, prohibits upward movement of the top and/or the storage member relative to the base. During collection of coins from the Model 80, the lock at the top is unlocked, the storage container is tilted upwardly around its rear lower edge relative to the base, and, upon vertical separation of the lower front edge of the storage member from the top of the mechanism plate, the mechanism plate is pivoted forwardly about its lower edge, revealing the cash box there behind.
The Model 80 vending machine has been nicknamed, in the trade, as the “Crack-Back” machine because of its construction which provides for the tilt-back of the storage container about its rear edge, which lifts up the lower front edge thereof permitting the mechanism plate to move forwardly. Ordinarily, the lock at the top of the storage member prevents such separation but it has been found in actual practice, over the years, that a blow or force, applied to the top edge of the storage member can sometimes permit vertical separation between the bottom front edge of the container and the top of the mechanism plate. This permitted unauthorized access to the cash box, and the pilfering of the valuable contents thereof.